The Beatles' song John Lennon wrote because he was 'fat, insecure and crying out for help'

The Beatles' rise to fame in the first half of the 1960s was meteoric. They went from playing the clubs of Merseyside to world stardom within years, with their status as the biggest stars on the planet cemented by their 1964 arrival in the United States and their debut on the 'Ed Sullivan Show', which was watched by more than 73m Americans.

That rise and the impact the band made in America is the subject of the documentary "Beatles '64", which was released on Disney+ last year. It showed Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison dealing with the hordes of screaming fans that greeted them in the States.

The band reacted to the challenges of fame well, but John struggled to get his head around parts of it. In an interview with Playboy in 1980, shortly before his death, John said: "The whole Beatles thing was just beyond comprehension. I was subconsciously crying out for help".

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That cry for help became the song 'Help!', which was the title track for the band's second film and accompanying album. John began writing the song in spring 1965, after the title for the band's forthcoming film was changed.

According to John's friend Stanley Parkes, he: "...came in from the studio one night. 'God,' he said, 'they've changed the title of the film: it's going to be called 'Help!' now. So I've had to write a new song with the title called 'Help!'."

John tapped into his own struggles with fame to write it. He explained in 1980: "When ‘Help!’ came out, I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it’s just a fast rock ‘n’ roll song.

"I didn’t realise it at the time; I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I really was crying out for help.

"So it was my fat Elvis period. You see the movie: he – I – is very fat, very insecure, and he’s completely lost himself. And I am singing about when I was so much younger and all the rest, looking back at how easy it was."

Paul helped John finish writing the track before they recorded it for the film's soundtrack. He recalled: "I seem to remember Dick Lester, Brian Epstein, Walter Shenson and ourselves sitting around, maybe Victor Spinetti was there, and thinking, what are we going to call this one? Somehow 'Help!' came out. I didn’t suggest it; John might have suggested it or Dick Lester.

"It was one of them. John went home and thought about it and got the basis of it, then we had a writing session on it. We sat at his house and wrote it, so he obviously didn’t have that much of it.

"I would have to credit it to John for original inspiration 70-30. My main contribution is the countermelody to John."

The track went to number one in America and in the UK. It is one of the songs John is proudest of writing and critics were very impressed with the final product.

Music writer Dave Marsh said: "'Help!' isn't a compromise; it's bursting with vitality … (John) sounds triumphant, because he's found a group of kindred spirits who are offering the very spiritual assistance and emotional support for which he's begging. Paul's echoing harmonies, Ringo's jaunty drums, the boom of George's guitar speak to the heart of Lennon's passion, and though they cannot cure the wound, at least they add a note of reassurance that he's not alone with his pain."